While the past seven days saw no movement in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA rankings, heavyweight Cheick Kongo (18-8-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) returns to action on Friday night and will hope to maintain his slot on the list.

Kongo, an 18-time UFC veteran, recently left the promotion in favor of a deal with Bellator MMA. He make his Bellator promotional debut at Friday’s Bellator 102 event, where he meets Mark Godbeer in the semifinals of the company’s four-man Season 9 heavyweight tournament.

Kongo currently sits at No. 15 in the heavyweight rankings, qualifying him as the only top-15 heavyweight not competing in the UFC. Whether or not he stays there will depend on his performance at Bellator 102, which takes place at California’s Visalia Convention Center.

ranking criteria

The rankings take into account a fighter's wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.

Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they've been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.

Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they're not inactive for more than 24 months.

To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter's primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, fighters can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won't be ranked in a new weight class until they've had their first fight at that weight.

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